Online savings at 2.15%! In today’s economy, with dropping interest rates, SmartyPig is raising their rates.
Hold on a second, have you heard of SmartyPig?
Quick rundown: SmartyPig provides a way for consumers to save up for specific goals. When you set up a goal you can share it with friends and family so they can help you save as well. Once you reach your goal you can cash is out by either transferring it out to another bank account of yours (like a checking account), have the balance sent to you on a debit card, or receive up to a 12% bonus by putting the balance on a retail card such as Amazon or Best Buy. You can also combine all three!
Essentially, SmartyPig is an online savings account which is FDIC insured and backed by West Bank. Accounts with balances under $50,000 will earn 2.15% APY starting May 19th.
I plan on doing a more thorough write-up of SmartPig’s features but I thought you would be interested in an online savings account that has interest rates that are higher then most.
SmartyPig is an interesting way for people to save up, especially if they have specific goals in mind. I think its definitely worth looking into if you are looking for a place to earn insured savings at a rate that is highly competitive.
Check out my review of SmartyPig.
Of course, make sure you read all of the details about the account before you sign up!
Do you already have an account with SmartyPig? How do you like it?
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Isn’t there a fee associated with a SmartyPig account? It seems like a great idea especially if you are saving up for something specific and your birthday or another gift giving holiday is around the corner.
Nope, Smarty Pig is fee free just like ING. It’s also FDIC insured.
It’s only drawback in my opinion in that the accounts have to be closed out completely instead of little withdrawals here and there, but that’s fine for a 2.15% payback.
That is true but you can transfer funds to other goals which may be helpful.
When you look at the rules, you can tell they really want to stress the goal reaching function of the site rather than it being another bank to park your money.
I have had a Smarty Pig account for nearly a year now. There are perks to this savings account- you can sign up easily online, you can create many goals or just one, you can share your goals with people on facebook and twitter. For example, I am having a baby shower soon for the baby-to-be and many people liked that they could add to my “diaper fund.” You can show percentage or full disclosure of numbers. I think this is a great site for teaching young adults important lessons about money and how gratifying it is to save. The only fault so far is that yes you do have to remove the whole amount when you need money. There is no penalty and it takes a day or two. It will continue to add to make draws on your bank account until you reach the goal you set, but once you reach that (which is at your discretion and easily changed) the money can sit there and accrue interest. But by far the best feature of Smarty Pig is that you can treat it like an anti-credit card. Don’t spend now and save later- save now and spend later and make a few bucks while you are at it. Need to go clothes shopping for Christmas? Save up all year and take your money out as a gift card and make back the interest + up to 12% extra! Imagine- credit cards charge just that much or more in interest on purchases already. I don’t in any way represent this program- but I can say it has really got me excited to save money! It keeps me paperless and I love to see the piggy bank fill up after each deposit! Go for it- you’ll love it too.
Great points! For me, I tend to buy a lot of gifts on Amazon. I can set up a gift goal, then get a bonus for Amazon so my return is MUCH higher than what I would get in another savings account.
Hey FFB,
Where did you hear about Smarty Pig? I’d never heard of it, but its a great name. The interest rate is great for an emergency fund or other short term savings too. Do you know if there’s a sign-up bonus available and if it’s available to Canadian residents?
Anyway, looks cool,
Guy
.-= Guy G.´s last blog ..Tips on Budgeting– A dollar saved is 2 dollars earned =-.
I’ve heard other people talking about it and I’ve gotten a couple of press releases from them. I’m not sure about Canadian residents but I’m sure there is information about that on their site!
Hey thanks for the write up! Though I’ve heard of SmartyPig, haven’t signed up yet. Can I withdraw money from SmartyPig like a regular bank account or is it tied up till some pre specified length?
.-= MoneyCone´s last blog ..What exactly are Treasury Notes, Bills and Bonds? =-.
My understanding is you can close a goal before its reached and pull the money out. The only delay is the time it takes to transfer into another account which is standard.
Sorry but that is most definitely NOT the only delay.
1. You are REQUIRED to fund the account every month. You may NOT opt out. You have flexibility to alter the amount of the contribution, but you may not pre-emt it. It’s going to happen and once it does, your funds are locked in place. All of them are locked in place. In my case currently a monthly contribution of $29 was scheduled to occur on the 1st. It didn’t happen till the 3rd. Now when I try to close a savings goal totaling over $28,000, I’m told I may NOT close it out and have access to any of my funds until that tiny transfer of $29 is completed on the 10th!!!
This is odd because according to their own faq, “ACH transactions take 3 business banking days to clear. SmartyPig defines funds as having cleared once SmartyPig has collected the funds and has full use of the funds.”
When I finally get my money, I’m through with SmartyPig. However they may not be through with me. I’ve been saving these funds for 2 years for a surgery. If I miss it now because I’m unable to fund it in time, they WILL be hearing from my attorney. No company should be allowed to hold YOUR money hostage for such trivialities. This isn’t a CD. It’s a savings account.
Don’t count on help from their customer service either in a matter like this because it won’t be forthcoming.
Wow, really sorry to hear about your troubles. This is the first time I’ve heard anything negative about SmartyPig. I hope you can get this cleared up quickly.
Thanks, in the interest of fairness, they did finally acquiesce and allow me to close the goal. It was most definitely not their SOP to do so though. Anyone who has a tight time-line need to be ultra careful to ensure that they don’t find themselves needing their funds while they are locked.
Good tip and glad you were able to resolve the issue!
For all – Remember SmartyPig is meant more as a savings tool for goals and not a savings account. Take into consideration the time you may need to get your money if you think you will need to withdraw it.
I just checked the Smarty Pig site, and their APY is .70. I didn’t see the 1.25 APY or 2.15 APY which was mentioned on your site. I tried to view the dates of your entries, but there is none. I’m writing this message to you on 10 Feb 2012. Am I missing something? Is it possible that in the time you published your article mentioning those rather attractive rates of 1.25 and 2.15, that Smarty Pig has since changed their rates to .70 APY?